Playing fair by the MCO

I have a question for Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s government: Do you want the movement control order (MCO) to work? At the rate things are going, I would be surprised if the answer was a resounding “yes” from everyone occupying government positions.

Let’s begin by first understanding what is needed for something as extreme as an MCO to be effective. For the MCO to be a success, research shows that clarity is key. 

That means having clear and consistent messaging about the measures being taken to stop the spread of a pandemic. One researcher, a professor of psychological medicine, stresses that “it is important to know what makes people more likely to comply”.

This brings us to a second condition for public compliance with a prolonged MCO - trust in the government. Israeli historian and author of the bestseller Sapiens, Yuval Noah Harari, in an article in the Financial Times, rightly points out that: “(To) achieve such a level of compliance and co-operation, you need trust. People need to trust science, to trust public authorities, and to trust the media.”

Unfortunately, members of Muhyiddin’s administration are slowly but surely undermining both these conditions for a successful MCO.

Firstly, clear messaging isn’t just about repeatedly exhorting Malaysians to #StayHome. Clear messaging also needs consistent behaviour. You can’t be saying something, and then doing the opposite thing, if you want the populace to follow your instructions. Because guess what? Citizens won’t just listen to what you say. They also watch what you do.

Hence, the importance of consistency so that there is trust and compliance.

The first failure of the Muhyiddin administration on this score was when it announced that barber shops and hair salons could reopen during the MCO’s third phase. Thankfully, there was instant pushback. What was most spectacular was the immediate rejection of the idea by the very people who would have economically benefitted from the reopening of their shops.

What was also incredible to witness was the sheer inconsistency between what was expected of citizens during the MCO, and what the government said barbers and hair dressers could resume doing.

As many who cut and style hair pointed out, it would be impossible to maintain the required one meter away from a customer. The inconsistency is glaring because since the MCO, citizens have been prohibited from exercising outdoors, even if they are doing it alone.

You’re not even allowed to walk around your apartment block by yourself, as I recently found out on one of my attempts to take care of my physical and mental wellbeing.

We know this does not make sense. There is no chance of me transmitting the coronavirus or of catching it if I’m out walking, biking or hiking on my own. And yet, that is what the MCO has prohibited me from doing. As an aside, in New Zealand and Germany, which have been commended for managing the pandemic well, citizens are allowed to take walks or bike if they maintain a safe distance from others.

And so, if citizens are not allowed to exercise or be outdoors even if they’re alone, how is it logical or congruent that the government would allow the reopening of barbershops and hair salons? Even though the decision was quickly overturned, the fact that Muhyiddin even announced it is proof that the government was undermining its own messaging about the MCO.

Thankfully in this instance, the MCO’s effectiveness was saved from this administration’s inconsistent decision-making by hairdressers themselves. They seemed to understand the MCO’s purpose far more clearly than did the International Trade and Industry Minister Azmin Ali.

The next blatant display of inconsistent behaviour has come from several politicians. We already know who they are - Deputy Health Minister Dr Noor Azmi Ghazali, Terengganu Menteri Besar Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar and his predecessor Ahmad Said, and Deputy Speaker Rashid Hasnon.

Muhyiddin’s administration has a clear choice to make. These politicians must suffer the same penalty that others, who have been deemed to have violated the MCO, have faced.

These include seminarians, who live together like family, who have been arrested, handcuffed and ordered to do community service for playing football within their own secure compound. Also senior citizens who have been fined RM1,000 for hanging out on a bench. And joggers who have been arrested.

If Muhyiddin’s administration wants to provide clear and consistent messaging, it must treat these offending politicians in the same way as citizens and non-citizens have been treated during this MCO period.

It is not enough for Defence Minister Ismail Sabri to declare: “No one is above the law, that is fundamental.” It’s not just what you say, it’s also what you do. This backdoor government would do well to remember that Malaysians are watching.

And it is already plain for all to see how Ismail is allowing wriggle room for these politicians by declaring that elected representatives are allowed to conduct programmes within their constituencies if they adhere to the MCO’s rules. 

If that was the case, then shouldn’t citizens also be allowed to exercise outdoors on their own so long as they observe the physical distancing that will prevent transmission?

Muhyiddin would also do well to remember that Malaysians are watching the news abroad. In New Zealand, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern swiftly demoted her health minister after he broke the country’s lockdown rules by driving his family to a beach 20km away from his home.

To his credit, Dr David Clark offered to resign for being such a poor example of the sacrifices the government expected of New Zealanders. Ardern’s response was clear: “Under normal conditions, I would sack the minister of health. What he did was wrong, and there are no excuses.” She said Clark would maintain his role only because New Zealand could not afford “massive disruption” in its response to Covid-19.

In Scotland, the chief medical officer quit after breaking her own rules to twice visit her second home during the pandemic. Catherine Calderwood said it would be impossible for the public to have confidence in official advice to avoid unnecessary travel if she remained in her post. 

“People across Scotland know what they need to do to reduce the spread of this virus and that means they must have complete trust in those who give them advice,” she said.

Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon (above) added that Calderwood’s mistake “risks distracting from and undermining confidence in the government’s public health message at this crucial time”, concluding that this made Calderwood’s position untenable.

Malaysia isn’t devoid of clear-thinking politicians. Umno deputy president Mohamad Hasan criticised the move to allow barbershops and hair salons to operate during the MCO, saying everyone needed to play a role in ensuring public health and safety. 

PKR secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution has also described the deputy health minister’s visit to a tahfiz school followed by a shared meal as “extremely irresponsible and shows a bad example to the rakyat”.

The fact is, this pandemic is far from over. That is not just my opinion. “We have not won the war yet,” says our Health Director-General Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah. 

Health officials in Australia and New Zealand, both hailed for their early signs of success in stemming the spread of Covid-19, share the same assessment. It is too soon, they say, to start easing physical distancing rules or reopening their economies.

My guess is, there is a high chance the MCO in Malaysia will be extended beyond April 28 to prevent further viral transmissions during Ramadan gatherings and the subsequent Aidilfitri exodus.

At the very minimum, even if the MCO is relaxed, Malaysians will still be expected to continue adhering to some restrictions until the pandemic is completely over. And if the government wants their attempts at containing the virus to be successful, it will need the full cooperation of Malaysians.

As Harari points out: “Centralised monitoring and harsh punishments aren’t the only way to make people comply with beneficial guidelines... A self-motivated and well-informed population is usually far more powerful and effective than a policed, ignorant population.”

Malaysians are clearly not ignorant. But we cannot expect them to be self-motivated if the very people making the rules about restricting our movements are the same ones breaking them. What’s worse, if politicians who break the rules get away with it, we can expect more defiance from an already disgruntled population.

And with everything that is going on with this pandemic, is that really what the Muhyiddin government wants?

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JACQUELINE ANN SURIN is an online trainer and facilitator, a Drama@Work consultant, and a leadership coach. She was an award-winning columnist, a journalist for 20 years, and the co-founder of The Nut Graph before switching careers. - Mkini